1. Find an example of a blog on a topic that interests you. Are there advertisements on the blog? Does the blogger appear to be sponsored by any companies? Is there information regarding sponsorship? Write a brief report of your observations.
2. Summarize the FTC's disclosure rules on using social media to promote products and services. Does the blogger you reviewed in the previous question follow these rules? Explain.
Jen Hsieh is a college student with a love for fashion who shares outfits and fashion sense on Jennifhsieh, her fashion blog. Her social influence earned her an invitation to Kate Spade's New York fashion week presentation, after which she blogged, "I had to keep myself from drooling" when describing the collection. Digital influencers like Jen are often paid to write product reviews on their blogs and to post pictures of themselves on sites such as Pinterest and Instagram wearing clothes given to them by the sponsor. Some are given all-expenses-paid trips to events. For example, Olivia Lopez, a personal-style blogger with a site called Lust for Life, was invited by Samsung to the South by Southwest and Lollapalloza music festivals and provided a phone with which to post pictures for her 90,000 Instagram followers. The hashtag "#thenextbigthing," which is used in Samsung's product promotions, was included in her posts. Otherwise, Olivia included no indication that Samsung provided sponsorship.